Friday, October 31, 2014

I read this book in one day, which is not so common for me anymore, particularly when it's over 500 pages!

The Magister has wreaked havoc with his Infernal Devices automatons but he still needs Tessa to complete his horrible plan. When The Magister finds a vulnerability and exploits it, Tessa is ready to sacrifice herself to save the people she loves, but Will and Jem will do anything to save her.

This was a great conclusion to The Infernal Devices trilogy. We learn about the origins of Tessa's power and her true identity, the cruel side of the Shadowhunters and why it's easy for Downworlders not to trust them. We see the invention of tools The Mortal Instruments' Shadowhunters take for granted. There are so many little links to TMI characters and plots. If it's possible to have a "best of both world's" ending, this book has it. Fans of the series will not be disappointed.

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Thursday, October 30, 2014

Tessa is relatively safe at the London Shadowhunter institute, but when the Clave seems intent on removing Charlotte as head of the institute, all bets are off. The Magister is still out there waiting to use Tessa's gifts for his own nefarious purposes and rogue Shadowhunters within the Clave are helping him. Frightened for her safety, Tessa is also caught between her feelings for the dark broody Will Herondale and the sweet but dying Jem Carstairs. Will is finally able to destroy his demons and open up to Tessa but it may be too late.

This is another good installment in the Shadowhunter universe. I didn't think I would like Tessa's story and I didn't want to be caught in a love triangle book, but Tessa grew on me and I enjoyed learning more about her "gift." The love triangle is not so much an "either or" as an "all of the above"… Will, Tessa and Jem all love each other and are willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for each other.

Fans of the Shadowhunter world will eagerly look forward to the conclusion of this trilogy.

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Wednesday, October 29, 2014

Tessa is a 16 year old American girl traveling to England to be with her brother after her aunt suddenly dies. She arrives in England and is greeted not by her brother but by two strange women who kidnap her and force her to "change." Not knowing what they are talking about, but afraid for her brother's life, Tessa learns she has a magical ability to change her appearance to another person if she has touched an object of importance to that person. The strange women are demons who intend on exploiting that ability for their master, The Magister. Luckily for Tessa, the Shadowhunters are on the case and she is rescued by the brash and brooding Will Herondale.

Clockwork Angel is the first in Clare's second Shadowhunter trilogy, The Infernal Devices. Although Tessa and Will are not quite as swoon-worthy as Clary and Jace, fans of The Mortal Instruments will still enjoy reading their story as well as meeting their favorite characters' ancestors. Magnus Bane, the immortal warlock, plays a prominent role as well. Readers who can't get enough of the Shadowhunters will appreciate this one.

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Monday, October 27, 2014

This should be pretty obvious and it's been 7 years since this series started but I'll spell it out anyway: Although I try pretty hard to avoid spoilers in my reviews, there will be spoilers for the previous books. So if you're like me and lived under a rock for the last 7 years, start with the first one.
Clary has managed to separate Sebastian and Jace but not without a price. Jace is consumed with heavenly fire making it nearly impossible for him to touch or get close to anyone, least of all Clary. Sebastian is stronger than ever and commands an army of dark Shadowhunters with his Infernal Cup. When the Shadowhunters are betrayed by supposed allies, Clary, Jace, Simon, Isabelle, and Alec must travel to the demon realms for the final showdown between good and evil.

This was a satisfying conclusion to The Mortal Instruments series. Overall, the series was exciting and engaging. Fantasy fans, particularly those who like stories of good and evil, will appreciate this series. Reminiscent of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, this series is entertaining and worth the time to read it. Although Clary and Jace's story is "done," there are more Shadowhunter tales to come.

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Friday, October 24, 2014

This should be pretty obvious and it's been 7 years since this series started but I'll spell it out anyway: Although I try pretty hard to avoid spoilers in my reviews, there will be spoilers for the previous books. So if you're like me and lived under a rock for the last 7 years, start with the first one.
If you made it through City of Fallen Angels, you're rewarded with City of Lost Souls. In COFA, we learned that because Jace and Clary kept his resurrection from the dead a secret, they didn't know Jace needed a special ceremony to protect him from demon interference. Not having that ceremony done enabled Lilith--mother of demons--to control Jace and trick him into resurrecting Clary's real brother, the evil Jonathan/Sebastian. At the end of COFA, Jace and Sebastian are bound in such a way that killing either will kill the other. In COLS, Sebastian completely controls Jace and the two of them embark on a quest to destroy all Shadowhunters. The only thing Clary can do is go deep undercover to try to learn what their plan is.

This book was SO much better than COFA. Sebastian as the Big Bad makes more sense than Lilith. Clary's undercover work with Sebastian and Jace is suspenseful and thrilling. We see Clary start to come into her own as a Shadowhunter and someone who can fight instead of someone who needs protection. COLS is hard to put down and well worth the read.

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Thursday, October 23, 2014

This should be pretty obvious and it's been 7 years since this series started but I'll spell it out anyway: Although I try pretty hard to avoid spoilers in my reviews, there will be spoilers for the previous books. So if you're like me and lived under a rock for the last 7 years, start with the first one.
Valentine has been defeated, Jocelyn (Clary's mom) is awake and engaged to Luke, Clary is home in NY and free to love her not brother Jace. Jace has been training Clary to be a Shadowhunter, as well as being the perfect boyfriend. Everything should be peachy keen, but after a few short months yet another obstacle is thrown in Clary and Jace's way. Someone is killing Downworlders and Shadowhunters and when Jace starts having dreams about killing Clary, he reacts by distancing himself from her. There's also some stuff about Simon not being happy as a vampire.

This was the weakest book in the series. It's the only one I didn't rush through, the only one that didn't have me immediately pick up the next book as soon as I turned the last page. Of all the things to keep Clary and Jace apart, dreams of killing her is the most ridiculous. It's not until the very last chapter that the book gets interesting. It seems like this book exists solely to set up the next trilogy. It could have very easily been skipped and the few important plot points summarized in an opening chapter in the next one. But it wasn't, so you'll have to read it to get those important plot points so you can read the next two in this series (which is totally worth it.)

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Wednesday, October 22, 2014

This should be pretty obvious and it's been 7 years since this series started but I'll spell it out anyway: Although I try pretty hard to avoid spoilers in my reviews, there will be spoilers for the previous books. So if you're like me and lived under a rock for the last 7 years, start with the first one.

Clary is STILL trying to save her mother and must travel to the Shadowhunter's homeland Idris to do so. She needs to find the warlock who helped her mother put herself into a coma so he can hopefully get her out of it. Unfortunately, the warlock is killed before she can talk to him. On top of that, Jace doesn't want her in Idris, Simon--who is now a vampire who can withstand sunlight--is being held prisoner by the very people who are supposed to be helping Clary, and there's another boy giving Clary confusing feelings.

Clare gives us everything we want in this "final" book of the trilogy (yes, final is in quotes for a reason. Wait for the next review.) Questions are answered, the big drama of Jace and Clary is resolved, and the Shadowhunters live happily ever after. Until the next book.

I was completely satisfied with the ending and enjoyed this book as much as the first two. Was it a groundbreaking work of literature? No. But it was a fun exciting series that was more than just vampires or werewolves or witches. I personally love the idea of angels and was happy to see a series include them.

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Tuesday, October 21, 2014

This should be pretty obvious and it's been 7 years since this series started but I'll spell it out anyway: Although I try pretty hard to avoid spoilers in my reviews, there will be spoilers for the previous books. So if you're like me and lived under a rock for the last 7 years, start with the first one.

Clary has learned an awful lot since her first introduction to the Shadowhunter world in City of Bones. Not just an ordinary mundane, Clary is the daughter of Shadowhunters which makes her one too. She still has so many questions and she's found her mother but she can't get any answers out of her because she's in a magically induced coma. Stuck between living a "normal" life with her best friend Simon, who seems to be becoming more than friendly, and her forbidden romantic feelings for her newly discovered brother Jace, Clary is a big ball of confusion. Clary would like to leave it all behind, but she needs Jace and the Shadowhunters to track down Valentine and hopefully save her mother.

If you liked the first book, you'll like this one.

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Monday, October 20, 2014

A couple of months ago I was sent The Bane Chronicles by Cassandra Clare to review. The Bane Chronicles is a companion to The Mortal Instruments and The Infernal Devices series and I had not read ANY of them. In order to do a proper review I felt like I had to go and read at least one if not both of the series, so I started with the first book in The Mortal Instruments, City of Bones.

Fifteen-year-old Clary Fray goes to a nightclub with her best guy friend Simon expecting a night of dancing, but stumbles on a murder in progress. Three strange teenagers covered in tattoos have taken a boy into a back room of the club and are torturing him with the intent to kill. Clary is shocked but even more so when the boy's dead body vanishes into thin air. Thus is her introduction to the world of Shadowhunters, Demons, and Downworlders. Demons exist to plague mankind and take over our world and Shadowhunters (part Angel) live to defeat them. Downworlders are half-demon but they've come to a tenuous truce with the Shadowhunters. As a mundane (normal human) Clary shouldn't be able to see any of them, but she soon learns no one is what they seem.

When Clary's mom is kidnapped and Clary has to fight a demon, she seeks refuge with the Shadowhunters from the nightclub, including gorgeous, sarcastic, but brooding Jace Wayland. Clary learns about this weird world of demons and angels from Jace and his foster siblings Alec and Isabelle. They all must work together to try to save Clary's mom and battle the Big Bad--rogue Shadowhunter Valentine who led a failed revolt years ago in an attempt to destroy all Downworlders.

I've seen the negative reviews of this series and it seems like people fall into two camps--those that love the books and those that hate them. Although I fully recognize the problems with the series, I did love this book. Clare knows her audience. "Ordinary" girl who turns out to be super-special, demons, slayers, hot tortured boys, forbidden love, this book/series has everything teenagers (and those who have yet to accept they are not teenagers) want. I gobbled this book up and read the entire series in just one month (which is super duper awesome when you consider I have 4 kids and also trained for a half marathon in the same month!)

Fans of Buffy (as I am) will love this series. This first book was also made into a movie which should appeal to teens as well.

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It's Christmas time in New York City and Lily and Dash find themselves alone. Lily is supposed to be watched by her older brother home from college, but he's a bit too absorbed with his boyfriend and not very interested in entertaining his kid sister. Dash has manipulated his divorced parents into thinking he is staying with one of them when he is actually not spending the holiday with either of them. Lily's older brother decides to help her find a boyfriend by encouraging her to leave a moleskin notebook with bizarre clues in their favorite bookstore. Dash finds the notebook, responds to the clues and leaves his own. They embark on a scavenger hunt courtship taking them all over NYC.

I enjoyed this book just as much as the authors' other two books. Written together like the other books, Cohn and Levithan have worked hard to make a unified writing style. It should be credited to Cohn-Levithan as a single author, rather than two separate people. The story is interesting and the characters are fun (they do suffer a bit from Dawson's Creek syndrome, but who's to say there aren't really well read teens out there who wouldn't be so intellectual. To say that it's not realistic is somewhat insulting to teenagers.). Fans of their other two books will not be disappointed.

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Wednesday, October 15, 2014

Amy and Elder have discovered all of the ship's secrets and decided to take the risks and land on Centauri-Earth. Finally able to feel earth under her feet and wake up her frozen parents, Amy should be happy and satisfied. But she and Elder soon learn that there are more secrets and nothing is as it truly seems. Amy loses nearly everything trying to make this new Earth into a home.

This was a great ending to the trilogy and just as good as the first two books, Across the Universe and A Million Suns. Revis has created an exciting world that will appeal to fans of both science fiction and dystopian literature. I was completely satisfied with the ending.

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Monday, October 13, 2014

I read Across the Universe over a year ago and was satisfied with the ending, but when the sequel was available as an ebook through my library I decided to read it. I am so glad I did. If you haven't read the first book, you'll want to do that before you read this.

It's been three months since Amy was unplugged and "accidentally" woken up from cryostasis. She's trying to adjust to life on Godspeed without her parents but it's difficult with Elder being so busy running the ship. The people have been taken off phydus which gives them more freedom but makes them harder to control. Elder has his hands full just trying to keep everybody alive and fed when he and Amy discover there are even more secrets aboard the ship.

A Million Suns is just as exciting as Across the Universe. A good blend of science fiction and mystery, A Million Suns is a must read for fans of dystopian literature.

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Saturday, October 11, 2014

Tommy Smythe is a strange boy who is obsessed with physics but cannot relate to his classmates. One day he disappears, leaving behind just his red motorbike and his cryptic journal full of notes about parallel universes and alternate dimensions. Tommy's classmates help search for him but most believe he found a way to cross over into another dimension. No one knows for sure but as long as the truth is never discovered, it remains a possibility.

Tommy's story is told through multiple points of view, some from his classmates and neighbors and others from strangers just passing through town. Each chapter is from a different perspective but they all center around a piece of land called the "pull-out" and relate to Tommy's disappearance. Some chapters are first person narratives (people who knew Tommy) and some are written in third person (people who find objects he has left behind) but all are in present tense. Each is dated with how long Tommy has been missing. While the tense can be jarring to read, it does help add to the sense that Tommy is missing and his story is ongoing. Readers looking for clear-cut answers and conclusions will be disappointed. The real story is not Tommy's to tell, it is in the lives of all the people left behind. Evidence of Things Not Seen is more of a short story collection with Tommy and the pull-out as a unifying thread than a mystery novel and will take a special reader to truly appreciate it.

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Friday, October 10, 2014

Seventeen-year-old Cassie has always been intuitive. She knows what people are going to think and do before they do it. It's only natural then that the FBI decides to recruit her for a new classified program that uses gifted teenagers to crack cold cases. While training to be a part of the team Cassie uncovers details about her mother's mysterious murder.

The Naturals is a good suspense story with some teenage angst and romantic drama thrown in. Cassie and her team of gifted but socially awkward teens are interesting characters and the story moves along quickly. Fans of Ally Carter's Gallagher Girls series will enjoy this new series as well.

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Thursday, October 09, 2014

Owen and Lilly, the two surving Atlanteans, continue their quest to save the Heart of the Terra and thwart the evil Eden corporation's secret Project Elysium in this final thrilling installment to the Atlanteans series. Owen is overjoyed to be reunited with Lilly, the true Medium to the terra, as they search for the Paintbrush of the Gods, but his joy is shortlived. He is still reeling from his discovery of his true past and the awful horrors unleashed in Desenna when he must face the hardest test yet—saving the planet or saving his love.

Readers unfamililar with the first two books in the series (The Lost Code and The Dark Shore) will want to catch up before attempting the The Far Dawn and will be rewarded for doing so. Emerson has written an exciting thought-provoking conclusion to his mythical adventure trilogy. This book is more mystical and spiritual than the others and ties the series up nicely. Book groups and classes would benefit from the numerous topics for discussion: ecology, polution, government, religion, ethics. Teens who do not read that deeply will still enjoy the adventure and the basic story of a boy who discovers he is more than what he seems. Fans of dystopian literature will not be disappointed.

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Wednesday, October 08, 2014

Cecil Castellucci dabbled a little bit with science fiction in First Day on Earth but dives right into it with Tin Star. I read Tin Star back in July but the summer swallowed me and I am just now writing my review (the first of 14 I have to do!).

Tula's family is traveling on a colony ship headed to a planet on the other side of the galaxy when it makes a pit stop at an out of the way space station. While on the station Tula asks the charismatic but controlling leader of the colony ship one too many questions and Brother Blue responds by savagely beating her and leaving her to die. She is rescued by the ship's Security Chief but not before the colony ship takes off. Tula has no choice but to adjust to life on the Yertina Feray with the help of the alien Heckleck.

The book's setting and characters make this science fiction, but ultimately the story could happen anywhere. Tula is beaten and left for dead, has no family or friends to help her, and must survive a cruel world. She is the only human on the station--the ultimate fish out of water story--but soon learns how to fit in with the underground society.

This was not my favorite science fiction story or my favorite Cecil Castellucci book. The story seemed to move a little slow at times but overall I liked Tula and I wanted to see how the story would end. I didn't love it but I didn't dislike it either. There is a sequel called Stone in the Sky coming out in February.

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